Tax Filers Receiving Earned Income Tax Credit

People Receiving Assistance

Tax Filers Receiving Earned Income Tax Credit

What does this measure?

The proportion of people filing taxes who receive the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

Why is this important?

The tax credit helps low-income individuals and families by reducing the taxes they pay or in some cases providing refunds. When the credit exceeds the amount of taxes owed, qualified filers receive a federal refund. The number of filers receiving the credit is one measure of the number of working poor people in a region, though not everyone who would qualify for the credit claims it.

How is our region performing?

In 2015, 16% of tax filers in the region received the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), below the state and national figure of 19%. From 2011 to 2015, the region's rate has stayed steady and about 3 percentage points lower than the statewide rate.

The rate of tax filers receiving the EITC did not vary much among the counties in the region. The county with the lowest rate in 2015 was Ontario, where 14% of filers received the credit. The highest rate came in Orleans where 19% of filers received the credit.

Notes about the data

People must claim the credit to receive it; therefore, these numbers do not reflect the number of people eligible for the credit. The IRS and other experts estimate that between 80 and 85 percent of those who are eligible for the credit claim it. Data for this indicator are expected to be released in the fourth quarter, with a two-year lag.

Featured Indicator

The number of meals served by any organization that receives food from a food bank, presented as a rate per resident. This includes a range of organizations from food pantries to emergency shelters to soup kitchens.